President Obama has said he wants to reform entitlements eventually, someday, after Republicans raise taxes. Republicans want the President to sign on to serious reform now as part of any deal, since AARP and the left will kill anything that isn't passed immediately.

Given the political difficulty of reforming entitlements, Republicans are right to try to get Mr. Obama's fingerprints on such a deal this year. But the reforms have to be worth it. With that in mind, we thought we'd offer a clip-&-save guide to reforms that would make a difference. None of this is commensurate with the scale of the problem, but then Mr. Obama won't sign anything that is. These changes are pragmatic and politically realistic, at least if Republicans drive a hard bargain.

I'm not holding my breath. I guess reform would be bad for us and only help our children. But we deserve it, right? It was our parents that saved the world from fascism and communism, after all. But our parents would probably say -- screw you; help our grand kids! --TS